Old video resurfaces of Drake kissing and fondling teenage girl on stage
'I can't go to jail yet,' musician jokes after learning the girl was 17 years old
A firestorm of online anger is forming against Canadian rapper Drake after a video from 2010 resurfaced on social media that shows him kissing and fondling a 17-year-old girl at a concert.
In a shorter clip from the video posted to Twitter on Jan. 4, Drake can be seen inviting the girl onstage during a break at a concert.
After kissing her shoulder and hugging her from behind, Drake is heard asking the girl how old she is.
Upon hearing her answer, Drake makes a joke about the situation to cheers from the audience, saying: "I can't go to jail yet."
"Why do you look like that?" Drake says in the video, which was first reported by the Daily Beast, a U.S.-based publication. "Well look, I had fun," the Toronto musician continues. "I don't know whether I should feel guilty or not, but I had fun. I like the way your breasts feel against my chest. I just want to thank you."
He then appears to kiss her more on the face and lips before she heads back into the audience.
Several media outlets are reporting the video is from May 2010 when Drake was 23. According to a YouTube user who posted video from the show, it happened at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colo.
In Colorado, a person under 17 can legally consent to sex with a person who is no more than 10 years older, according to state law.
Watch video posted by YouTube user. CBC News has not independently verified the accuracy of its content:
Tweets joining the debate over Drake's conduct began in full on Saturday, a day after a Twitter user posted part of the video.
Drake has not responded to questions about the video or issued a public statement since it came to light on Saturday.
No longer kisses fans
However, during an interview from May 2016, Drake said he has changed the way he interacts with fans.
"You still kiss your fans?" asked Nardwuar a Canadian interviewer and musician from Vancouver.
"Uh, no, I stopped that," Drake replied.
"You know, you never know how old fans are and what they've been up to prior to the show, so I don't kiss fans any more," he said.